Chapter 211
Chapter 211: The Punishment for Failure
When she heard the final name, Auréliane's eyes lit up ever so slightly.
Toward Claudia before her, she couldn't help but feel a small trace of warmth.
"Did my teacher send you to see me?"
Auréliane spoke, her eyes brimming with anticipation.
She had just received word that Viktor would be returning to Blairstone for a period of time, and so her lessons had been temporarily suspended as well.
So she had assumed that Claudia had been sent by Viktor to look in on her.
Claudia did not answer. She simply kept smiling, her eyes carrying a faint trace of doting fondness.
Then she brought both hands behind her neck and unclasped the pendant she wore there.
She leaned forward slightly, reached out, and passed both hands around Auréliane's neck before fastening the pendant around it.
Once Claudia straightened up, Auréliane lowered her head and gazed at the black crystal pendant now hanging against her chest.
She turned it in the sunlight, studying its peculiar shape over and over.
Though the pendant was quite beautiful, Auréliane had no idea what it actually was.
Claudia addressed Auréliane with solemn sincerity:
"This is a protective charm—a gift from me to you."
She placed one hand on Auréliane's shoulder, eyes narrowing gently as she smiled and said:
"I like your innocence and kindness. Hold onto that heart and grow stronger."
Auréliane blinked upon hearing this, looking at Claudia.
"Are you… very strong?"
"Of course."
The moment Claudia's confident words fell, several streaks of markings climbed up across half her face.
A formidable aura erupted in an instant. The air around them seemed to freeze solid, transforming into blade after blade of spatial edges.
Only a brief moment passed—yet it was more than enough for Auréliane to feel the full weight of her power.
While Auréliane was still staring in a daze, Claudia had already reined in her aura. The markings on her face gradually faded, until they vanished entirely.
Auréliane stood there with a vacant gaze, staring at Claudia, and murmured:
"That's incredible."
Claudia rose to her full height and gently continued to encourage Auréliane:
"You are still young, and your talent surpasses anyone else's."
"Let me look forward to the day when you grow powerful enough to defeat even me."
With those words, Claudia turned around.
Under Auréliane's gaze, she departed, unhurried.
She left Auréliane standing alone in the garden, clutching the black crystal pendant tightly in her hand, lifting it up to examine it once more.
Sunlight passed through the pendant, and a prismatic array of colors was cast into Auréliane's eyes.
The small blade-shaped form was adorned on both sides with bat-like wings, and when the light shone through it, it looked almost sacred.
……
As Claudia walked along the path, she sensed a gaze settle upon her—one that had been fixed on her the entire time.
She came to a stop where she stood and let out a quiet, amused laugh.
"You don't need to keep watching me like that, Aubrey."
"I know you don't like me, so I won't make things difficult for you."
"But the children are innocent."
A spectral red lion descended through the air, touching down steadily before her.
The lion carried with it an immense authority. Its gaze was utterly cold—like something looking upon a threatening beast.
The overwhelming pressure made Claudia feel a crushing, suffocating weight.
"Remember what you said to me."
"Fulfill your promise."
The lion, carrying that air of authority, left behind those words and turned away.
Its form gradually dissolved into dust, and disappeared.
Only when she felt its aura fade entirely into the distance did Claudia raise one hand to cover her left eye.
That eye had turned a shade of crimson.
It beat like a heart—thump, thump—pulsing rhythmically.
As though she had entered the combat state of a Demon Hunter.
She slowly raised her head, her gaze directed toward the sky.
Within those crimson eyes, the memory of battling that Demon replayed itself:
She had lost. Her clothes had been torn to shreds, the blade in her hand too heavy to lift, even her mask shattered beyond recognition.
Yet those crimson eyes—beating like a heart—had refused to look away, staring up unblinking at the red Demon above.
5th Tier. Claudia could feel it unmistakably.
It was overwhelmingly powerful.
Claudia couldn't understand why a Demon could possibly be that strong.
But then, the Crow had folded its wings and descended slowly before her.
"You are indeed stronger than the other Demon Hunters. However…"
"You failed."
Those who fail must willingly accept punishment.
"I will allow you to maintain your clarity at all times and to freely control your own power."
The red Demon gradually receded into the boundless darkness.
The sky was left with only wave after wave of shadow, as though it sought to swallow Claudia whole.
The Crow's solitary eye glimmered with a cunning light, appearing utterly mysterious:
"And what I want from you is to return to the Imperial Palace."
"This is something I promised Viktor."
……
Claudia looked at the bright and clear sky, as though snapping back to her senses, and paused for a moment.
If she had been a little steadier. A little more clear-headed.
Would she have been able to defeat that creature?
"Ha. Beaten by a Demon, coerced by a Crow."
"Truly not a pleasant experience."
The crimson eye gradually grew calm. The red drained away, restoring itself to an ordinary eye.
To freely maintain the power of a Demon Hunter.
What a miracle indeed.
***
Batch after batch of Demon Hunters boarded the Carriages, iron shackles binding them as though they were prisoners being transported under escort.
They would be sent to Blairstone under the watch of Demi-human guards.
Within the Clavena Family's territory, they would perform labor-like work and undergo ideological reform.
What Viktor needed was a force of Demon Hunters capable of unleashing their full combat power at any moment—not people who only found their strength when facing Demons, and even then lost their heads in the process.
Viktor watched them board the Carriages and depart, then turned around.
Leah was standing right beside him.
"I've already notified Helnersen. He'll be sending over a few craftsmen to repair the Manor."
Though Viktor was a Mage and could probably restore the damaged Manor with a few spells, Leah had no desire for him to do that.
On one hand, she didn't want Viktor involving himself in such trivial matters—and on the other hand…
Leah looked up at Viktor. Even in the sweltering heat of summer, Viktor seemed utterly unbothered, still wearing that same old worn Coat of his.
She really did have some difficulty accepting Viktor's sense of fashion.
Leah folded her arms across her chest and spoke from where she stood:
"So, we'll need to go back to Blairstone and stay for a few days."
Viktor gave a light nod, accepting the arrangement.
"Given that going back and forth would be a hassle, I've temporarily canceled your lessons with the Princess. You can make them up later."
"Also, Heni will be coming back with us for a few days, well… you understand why."
Leah said this, then let out a helpless sigh.
Though Leah had already figured out who had beaten the Prince—Heni had come forward to clarify the matter herself—no one knew exactly where the actual culprit was or where they had gone.
At least for now, Heni was still the one bearing that blame.
So Leah could bring Heni back to Blairstone to lay low for a few days.
With the relationship between Viktor and the Princess in play, the Royal soldiers would have a hard time simply marching into Clavena Family territory to haul Heni away.
"Besides, the Academy hasn't started its new term yet. Her being there is just voluntary assistance."
Leah finished her explanation to Viktor.
Honestly, Leah herself wasn't quite sure what was going on with her.
It wasn't as though she and Heni had spent much time together at all—yet every time she saw Heni, she would find herself instinctively developing a fondness for her.
An instinctive urge to protect her.
Even an instinctive urge to… touch her. Like giving her a pat or something.
She had actually gone and patted Heni just yesterday.
Thinking about it now, Leah felt a little awkward.
Ever since Heni had arrived, she had asked herself more than once whether her own preferences were perhaps not entirely normal.
But every time that thought surfaced, she would look at Viktor again.
Like now.
Leah was standing right beside Viktor, and took a careful look at her elder brother, who was, she had to admit, quite remarkably good-looking.
Mm. She was still into men, clearly. No issues there.
At that moment, Viktor spoke as though something had just occurred to him.
"Going back and forth isn't actually that much trouble. You don't need to cancel on my behalf…"
"Viktor."
Leah stepped squarely in front of him, both hands gripping his collar.
Like someone with an obsessive streak, she straightened out his rumpled collar.
Once she had finished, she lifted her head and met Viktor's eyes directly.
"I want you to get some proper rest for a while."
Viktor looked down into Leah's eyes. The rest of what he'd meant to say would not come out.
"…Alright."
At that moment, Cocotte drifted over atop her cloud, leisurely floating by.
Heni was walking alongside her.
Cocotte went completely limp across the cloud, sprawled out in great distress as she complained:
"Why do I have to follow you people back to your hometown?!"
Heni stood to the side, watching Cocotte throw her fit with a helpless expression, and said nothing.
Leah turned back, hands on her hips, eyes carrying a playful glint as she teased:
"Don't forget—you still have work to do."
"Slacking off is not acceptable behavior, Your Majesty the Elven Queen."
At the words "Elven Queen," Cocotte's body gave a shudder, and she jolted back to alertness.
"Fine, fine, I'm going, alright?!"
As her words fell, the sound of rubble tumbling reached everyone from behind.
They turned to look. Within a faintly rising cloud of dust, Xiangyilan emerged from the Manor.
She shouldered her way through the broken front door and dragged an enormous pile of luggage with her, slowly descending the steps.
Such a slight frame—and yet not a trace of effort showed on her face.
Perched on top of her head, a black One-eyed Crow was dozing off.
Xiangyilan walked over slowly, her ears twitching, and reported to Viktor with a perfectly straight face:
"Master, everything has been packed."
The Crow lifted off from her head and landed back on Viktor's shoulder.
Viktor gave a nod, slipped both hands into his pockets, and turned around.
Then a blue luminescence surged and rippled in front of him.
The glow began to expand, spinning rapidly in midair.
Atop the azure Magic Formation, a tremendous gate rose up from the ground, gradually manifesting before everyone present.
The gate looked like something born of an illusion, stretching outward in all directions, as though straining to open wider.
Finally, the azure gate slowly swung open. A deep passage that resembled a starry sky swelled with blue ripples and revealed itself to the group.
A gust of fierce wind burst forth. A wave of dust billowed up with it, and everyone instinctively raised their hands to hold down their clothes.
Viktor, however, paid it no mind. Even as the wind set his Coat snapping and howling, and the collar Leah had just straightened became disheveled once more, he appeared utterly unaffected.
He simply stared at that azure gate, and his words fell upon the ears of all present.
"Let's go."
"We're going home."